Forestdale man pleads guilty to voter fraud

By Ethan Genter

Posted Nov 27, 2019

Police say he cast ballots in Sandwich and Dennis in 2016 presidential election.

ORLEANS — A Forestdale man has pleaded guilty in Orleans District Court to charges that he voted in two towns in the 2016 presidential election.

Mark Goode, 64, pleaded guilty Nov. 18 to charges of attempting to vote twice and false registration as a voter. Investigators say he was registered to vote in Sandwich and Dennis and voted in both towns in the last presidential election.

Sandwich police found that Goode had registered under different dates of birth, one of which was false and allowed him to avoid detection by election officials.

Goode registered for early voting in Sandwich and voted in person in Dennis for the same election, police said.

In June, Goode told Dennis police that he used to live in Dennis but had been living in Sandwich for the past six years. Goode said he went to the polls in Dennis and was told that he already had voted, according to the Dennis police report. He said he then left and went to vote in Sandwich.

Goode told police he knew people could not vote twice but did not know you could not register in two towns. He said he believed someone had used his name and voted in his place in Dennis.

The Dennis police report did not indicate how Goode voted in either town.

Goode originally pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on the charges in August. He paid a $200 fine for each charge after changing his plea, according to court documents.